Kwara State Unmasked Over 8,800 Ghost Worker

The Personnel Database Development Committee said the suspected ghost workers were uncovered in the payroll of state and local governments. The Kwara State government yesterday said it discovered 8,863 ghost workers in its employ.

The committee’s Alternate Chairman Isiaka Gold spoke while submitting the committee’s report to Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed at the Government House in Ilorin, the state capital.
He said the 8,863 workers could not be verified in the biometric exercise.

Of 35,656 workers on the state’s payroll, 31,652 were cleared, leaving 4,004 un-verified; only 40,931 of 45,790 council workers were cleared.
The committee recommended that the verification be continuous, urging the government to implement a harmonised staff identification system, certificate verification and clock-in system, to be deployed by the consultant at no cost.

Gold, who is secretary to the state government (SSG), noted that the state and councils lose N437,500,513.56 monthly to the fraud.
He said during verification, 81,446 workers were found on both payrolls but that only 72,583 and pensioners scaled through.

Governor Ahmed endorsed the committee’s findings and directed the Ministry of Finance to prepare the payroll of council and state workers henceforth.
The governor, however, said the ministry should warehouse the projected savings until all workers and pensioners were verified.